


if my wishes came true (it would have been you)

by Ilearnedtoreadforthis



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Breaking Up & Making Up, Getting Back Together, Inspired by Taylor Swift, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:34:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26183509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ilearnedtoreadforthis/pseuds/Ilearnedtoreadforthis
Summary: It has been fifteen years since they broke up.  But a chance meeting at a bar feels like destiny and Tony hopes that this is the second chance he has always dreamed of.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 2
Kudos: 116





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> In continuing my theme, this is based on the Taylor Swift song "the one". What can I say, I am pretty sure she wrote this album thinking about Stony.

Tony hadn’t been in this bar in ages. As he looked around, it all looked the same as it did when he lived around the corner from it. The room itself was poorly lit with the main source of light being the light that hung over the pool table that sat toward the back of the bar and a few random lights at the tables scattered around the outer edges. The pool sticks were housed just to the left of the pool table and neon signs advertising well known beers adorned the walls everywhere else. 

He had been sitting there for almost an hour now, nursing his drink, just living in memories of the past. He doesn’t know what made him come here tonight. He hadn’t been to this part of town for almost 15 years, but at the moment it seemed like he never left. It was as if he could walk a few blocks down the street and into the one bedroom apartment he occupied right out of college.

He thought back to how different his life was back then. Things should have been simple, but his father's unrealistic expectations of him drove him into someone he didn’t recognize. It took quite the dramatic event to make him realize that he needed to get out from under his father’s control. That it was time for him to go make a name for himself, rather than follow a path that someone else was dictating. But that train of thought was still too painful to dwell on, even being over a decade old, so he tried to put it out of his mind and bring himself back to the present.

However, when the bell on the door rang as someone new entered, Tony looked up and his heart stopped. It couldn’t be, could it? He blinked a few times as if to clear the vision in front of him. He stared intently at the man that entered the door. His broad shoulders and muscle mass reminded him of an athlete, even though he knew that the man he was reminded of never played a sport in his life. His blonde hair was a little longer and he now sported a nicely trimmed beard, but it was the eyes that gave him away.

Tony would recognize those blue eyes anywhere. He remembers endless nights just staring into those eyes and planning his future. Laughter and love radiating out from them every time they saw him. The good memories were quickly followed by the unpleasant ones. The sadness and disappointment. The pleading and the inevitable yelling.

HIs eyes followed the man as he approached the bar and ordered a drink, but his mind was stuck in the past. He had thought about the other man almost everyday since that night fifteen years ago but could never gain enough courage to see him again. But now, here he was, just a few steps away and the courage was still escaping him.

Tony didn’t believe in a higher power but as he looked at the man at the bar, he felt this was a sign from whomever was in charge. He called the waitress over and handed her a fifty dollar bill with explicit instructions and then waited.

***

As Steve entered the bar, he took a deep breath. Even though he came here a few times a year to meet friends, every time he walked through the door he was reminded of Tony and the time they spent there together. They used to come here almost every Friday night back then. Their friends would trickle in and out all night long to play pool, talk and drink to celebrate the end of the week. 

This time, however, he was meeting Bucky, his best friend since childhood. Even though Steve didn’t live in the neighborhood anymore, most of his friends still did, including Bucky. They were supposed to meet at seven, but if he knew Bucky, he would be late, if he actually showed up at all. 

Bucky had called him earlier in the day to ask Steve to meet him for a drink and to talk. He and his wife, Natasha, had a fight that morning and Bucky was sure it was over so he wanted to drown his sorrows. Steve was used to the routine however, since Bucky and Natasha fought just as passionately as they loved. It really was just a matter of time before they were back together.

As he sat drinking his beer, the bartender placed a drink next to him along with a can of whipped cream. “Here is your Amaretto and Irish Cream, enjoy.”

Steve attempted to stop the bartender from leaving, but he froze almost as soon as he started to speak. The scene that played out in front of him was too familiar and his breath stopped as he fully remembered the first time this happened.

It was his senior year in college when he and Bucky had gone to one of the local bars to celebrate their finals being over for the semester. A few other friends had joined them as well and they were discussing the futures that hung out in front of them. Steve had had an internship at an art gallery in Manhattan all lined up for the summer and was looking forward to living in New York after graduation.

It was Steve’s turn to buy drinks for the group, so he walked up to the bar. As he sat and waited the bartender brought him over a drink along with a can of whipped cream set to the side. “The gentleman at the end of the bar would like you to enjoy this drink on him.”

The bartender nodded toward the other man and explained, “It’s an Amaretto and Irish Cream. Enjoy.” 

Steve looked over at the man. He looked to be around the same age as Steve and his friends, but he did not recognize him from school. He knew he would have remembered someone that remarkable. 

From where Steve was standing, he could only see from the waist up, but the t-shirt and sports coat he had on accentuated his slim, toned body. His brown hair looked like it hadn’t been brushed for a very long time but yet it looked perfectly coiffed. And those doe eyes held mischief as he watched them approach.

“Have you ever had an Amaretto and Irish Cream?” the man asked. 

“I don’t think so.” Steve was intrigued.

“Well you know,” he spoke as he picked up the can of whipped cream, “there is a drink that is almost identical to this one, called a blowjob.”

He now looked slyly at Steve. “The only difference is,” he paused as he opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue slightly and sprayed some whipped cream inside and swallowed, “the whipped cream. Care for any?” Tony held the can out as an offering.

Steve couldn’t help but smile at the directness of the man’s line. He felt an immediate attraction to him and decided then and there that he wanted to get to know this man better. 

“It definitely sounds appealing,” Steve replied, a twinkle in his eye.

They spent the remainder of the evening tucked into the corner booth, exchanging innuendos and small talk. Steve’s friends all but forgotten. And one night, led to two. Two nights led to a month and soon three years had passed when, not so suddenly, everything had fallen apart.

But as Steve stood in the bar now, looking down at the drink that was just delivered to him, he could remember none of the reasons they broke up, just the happiness that the two had shared once upon a time.

Feeling the excitement rise in his stomach, Steve started to scan the bar. There, in their old booth, sat Tony, a little older but still as handsome as ever sitting in jeans and a dress shirt that was opened at the collar. Steve could feel the lump in his throat as his smile grew larger as he took the sight of Tony in.

***

Tony watched as Steve picked up the drink he sent over in one hand and the can of whipped cream in the other and started to walk toward him. His brilliant idea to gain Steve’s attention had worked perfectly, but now his mind was scrambling as to where to go from here. 

He knew for his part, the physical attraction was as strong as it had always been, but with 15 years between them, could there be anything else? If destiny was going to throw them together like this, he was damned sure that he was going to find out.

“Hi, Tony,” Steve said softly as he reached the table.

“Steve,” Tony said with a tone of disbelief.

“Thanks for the drink. Still using the same pick up line I see.”

“I don’t think I’ve used it in almost 20 years. But it worked then so...” Tony trailed off. “Care to sit?”

“I’d love to.”


	2. Chapter 2

As Steve slid into the seat across from Tony, he felt the past 15 years slip away. He was 22 years old again, looking into the face of the man he loved, waiting for their future to unfold. 

“You look great, Steve,” Tony broke into Steve’s memory. “I have to say the beard really works for you.”

“Oh yeah.” Steve absent-mindedly stroked his beard. “I forgot I didn’t have it when we were together.”

“I like it.”

Steve shook his head, staring at Tony, “It is so strange seeing you here again.”

Tony gave a partial smile. “I haven’t been here since, well, you know.”

Steve thought back to what Tony was referring to. The last year of their relationship had been difficult. Tony had been working in the research and development department of Stark Industries and, obviously, outperforming everyone else in the group. In Steve’s opinion, Tony should have been rewarded for his hard work and ingenuity, but where Tony’s father was concerned, it just meant that Tony had to work harder.

It became a constant source of tension between Steve and Tony. Instead of Tony being the fun loving boyfriend that surprised Steve with flowers or weekend getaways, he became a workaholic. At first it was just late nights, but then it developed into work filled weekends and sometimes work binges where Steve wouldn’t see Tony for days on end. 

Steve knew that it was Tony’s father putting pressure on him and he tried to be understanding. But after almost seven full months of basically living with a ghost, Steve decided he had reached the end of his patience. He packed a few bags, left Tony a note and stayed with Bucky. He never heard from Tony again.

“I waited for your call,” Steve said.

Tony looked down at the table. “I wish I had a good reason for not calling. You know, for not chasing you down and begging on hands and knees for you to take me back. But I don’t.”

“Then why?”

Tony looked back up at Steve. “At first, I was mad. I thought you were being selfish and you should be crawling back to me. I was so self-involved. The more I did, the more I wanted to be even better, until that’s all there was.”

“I know your dad was putting a lot on you.”

“I would love to lay all this on my father. And it was him, in the beginning. The pressure, the deadlines. I really thought I could make him proud, you know, he’d finally see me as an equal. But I knew, in the back of my head, that would never happen. And when it came right down to it, I could have said no. I could have stood up to him. He needed me more than I needed him. Unfortunately by the time I figured all that out, I was too embarrassed to call you. Too much time had passed.”

Steve reached his hand out to touch Tony’s but thought better of it, “I wish you would have.”

“Me too.”

They sat in silence for a brief time until Tony spoke again. “So, anyone special in your life? Is someone going to be walking through that door any minute, thinking I’m trying to pick you up and want to kick my ass?”

Steve laughed a little at that. “Bucky might kick your ass, but it would be for another reason all together.”

Tony smiled at that as well. “I can imagine Barnes would love to kick my ass. Probably deserve it too.”

Steve pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time and noticed he received a text. “Well your ass-kicking will have to wait. He’s not coming.”

“Was it something I said?” Tony joked.

“He and his wife got into a fight this morning and he needed a shoulder. But it seems that they are currently in the middle of make up sex.”

“That’s not a visual I needed,” Tony quipped. “But you never answered my question. Married? Engaged? Hopelessly in love?”

“Engaged.” Steve watched Tony’s face change and added, “Once, but not any longer.” 

Tony relaxed again. “Oh, what happened there?”

“I think I was in love with the idea more than the man. Tried to make things fit where they didn’t.”

"What about now?"

Steve shook his head, "No one special. What about you? Any little Starks running around?"

"Oh God, wouldn't that be terrifying."

Steve's expression softened, "I never thought so."

Tony tried to put Steve's comment out of his head, "Honestly, after what happened between us, I never went looking for anyone else."

"But Tony, it's been fifteen years. There's been no one?" asked Steve with an incredulous tone.

Tony raised both eyebrows, "Don't get me wrong. It's not like I've been celebit or anything. I've had my fair share of partners but no one I would call a real relationship. Like you said, couldn't make the pieces fit."

They looked at each other again. Steve sat in amazement, "I still can't believe you're here. But if you haven't been here in 15 years, why now? Why tonight?"

"Ha," an insincere laugh escaped Tony's mouth. "Uh, Reader's Digest version or do you have time for the extended length?"

Steve flips his wrist as if he's looking at a watch, "Yeah, I think I have time for the full thing."

Tony shifted in his seat and placed his hands on the table. He took a deep breath and began.

"So, right after you left -"

Steve interrupted, "Wow, you really are going for the full version."

Tony smirked in response, "Okay smart ass, do you want to hear this or not?'

"Sorry, please continue." Steve laughed.

"Anyway, as I was saying," Tony stated pretending to be aggravated, "after you left, and after I pulled my head out of my ass, well, mostly, I decided I couldn't live under my Dad's thumb any longer and that's when I launched Stark Green."

Steve's eyes widened, "That was you? You've done some ground-breaking work in green energy. But how did you get your father to buy into it?"

"Let's just say that I held the patents on a few very important pieces of technology that dear old dad could not do without. So it was either let me pursue the things I was interested in, or set his business back decades. Needless to say, he came around to see it my way."

"Good for you, Tony."

"Thanks. I had to keep one foot in his side of the business, but it seemed worth it." Tony paused for a moment, reminiscing in his own mind about his journey making Stark Green into the success it was today.

"Everything was good until a few weeks ago. It was my birthday, the big four-oh, you know. The company threw a party for me, in typical Stark fashion of course. Pulled out all the stops.

"My father even decided to give a speech. But also in typical Stark fashion, since the night wasn't about him, he decided to make it about him and announced his retirement."

"You're kidding." Steve was surprised. He couldn't imagine Howard Stark ever removing himself from his company.

"Nope. Want to hear the kicker?"

Steve nodded.

"He named me as his successor. Nobody was surprised, I guess, except me. I mean, it's logical, but I always thought that he'd come up with something to avoid having me in charge. It’s not like he ever exuded confidence in my abilities."

"Oh, come on, Tony, you know there is no one who deserves this more or anyone who will do a better job than you. Congratulations."

Tony nodded slowly, "Sell your shares then, because there's a twist ending.”

Steve leaned in, resting his forearms on the table, clasping his hands together.

"All the paperwork was to be signed this morning. 10:00 am sharp. I was finally going to be in charge, have my projects take the forefront. The board was there, a few people from the press. Then Charles Harper came up to me. You might remember him from one of our fundraisers."

Steve quickly shook his head.

"Anyway, he came up to me, slapped me on the back and said, you owe me a hundred bucks, Stark. I told you that you'd be heading up Stark Industries before Howard kicked the bucket."

Tony's gaze shifted from looking in the distance to looking Steve in the eyes. "You and I both know that I thought Howard would spend every moment until his dying breath running that company."

"Right."

"So I started laughing and pulled out my wallet to pay the man. And that's when everything stopped because that's when I saw it."

"Saw what?"

Tony reached into his pocket and grabbed his wallet. He slowly opened it and pulled out a photo that had been tucked between the bills. 

The picture itself was dog-eared and worn, the ends curled up from where the wallet had caused it to bend. It had obviously been trimmed from a larger picture, but made smaller to allow it to fit in the wallet. He put it on the table and slid it over to Steve.

Steve picked up the photo and stared at it. It was a photo of him and Tony. Tony was kissing him on the cheek and a huge grin was on Steve's face as he held up a quarter to the camera. It was from one of the weekend trips that Tony had taken him on so long ago.

It was his 22nd birthday and Tony flew them to the Bahamas for the weekend. Tony had booked a cheap little hotel room at the last minute and whisked him away. They spent two days on the beach and two nights wrapped in each other's arms. 

And when Tony realized that he didn't get Steve a birthday cake, he gave Steve all the change out of his pocket and told him to make wishes by tossing the coins into the pool from their balcony. The quarter in the picture was the only one that actually made it into the pool, the others ended up scattered in various places around the pool.

Steve's fingers brushed over the picture. "I remember this."

"I've had that with me everyday for 15 years," Tony said, nodding toward the photo. "Have looked at it countless times, brushed by it daily. But today - today I really saw it. Look at us Steve, at me. I was happy, I mean really happy. My life wasn't Stark Industries or Stark Green. I had love, happiness…and you.

"I saw that and then I looked at my father and realized I don't want to end up like him. Seventy five years old with nothing to show for it."

"I wouldn't call a billion dollar company nothing."

Tony pursed his lips and shook his head, "Money isn't everything. Look at that photo. We didn't have a lot then and look at us. Happy. It was the best time of my life. 

"So I walked out. Told them they needed to find someone else to run the business and I've been driving around ever since."

"You've been driving around since 10? Where? How did you end up here?"

Tony shrugged his shoulders, "I have absolutely no idea. All I remember is thinking about you and all the shitty decisions I've made in my life. How I was stupid enough to let the best thing in my life go without a fight. Before I knew it, I was here.

"I'm going to be completely honest with you, because I think after what happened, you deserve it." Tony paused, "I regret it. I regret it all. Let's face it, I left you long before you left me."

"When I didn't hear from you, I was mad at myself for leaving. For not trying harder,” Steve’s voice was barely above a whisper.

"I'm sorry you ever felt that way, Steve. I took you for granted...I see that. You were never to blame for anything. I am so sorry.." Tony reached across the table to place his hand on top of Steve's. "You deserved so much more. If I could go back and change it, I would, I would in a heartbeat."

Tears started to build up in Tony's eyes. "I know it's been a long time and so much has changed, but I would like to get the chance to know you again. Something pulled me here tonight, to you, and I've got nothing to lose. I've already lost everything that matters. And I know this is probably the last thing you expected or even wanted, but I'll be damned if I don't chase you this time."

Steve’s mind was reeling from what he just heard. Over the years, he can’t deny that this is what he had always dreamt of. Whereas with every other person he tried to build something had seemed almost forced, with Tony things were natural, complete. And the obstacle that caused them to separate in the first place was gone. His heart was screaming yes, yes, yes but his mind was telling him to slow down.

It was like Tony was reading his mind, “I know this is all out of the blue and I don’t-”

Steve cut him off and started to speak, “You know Tony, if we do this, some things need to be different.”

Steve picked up the whipped cream and sprayed a swirl on the Amaretto and Irish Cream that sat in front of him and downed the drink in one gulp, leaving him with a whipped cream mustache that he wiped off with the back of his hand.

Steve’s smile turned wicked as he picked up the can of whipped cream again, telling his mind that this is a battle it was not going to win. “For instance, this time, we take the can back home with us.”

Tony’s smile could have lit the entire room, “Whatever you say, Steve. Whatever you say.”


End file.
